Determining the Age of a Water Spot – Water Damage Restoration
When you have backed-up sinks, bathtubs or toilets that overflow, you know that water damage restorations will be needed. Nonetheless, your property can come under water damage in ways that aren’t as obvious. Since you have plumbing running all over your residence, you can have a pipe leaking or an accumulation of condensation between your walls or ceilings. It’s a difficult circumstance because this isn’t in view- you won’t recognize it until you have water damage, and then it’s hard to identify how long the issue has persisted.
Because the pipes are hidden, you can get an estimate of how long you’ve had water problems by evaluating the water damage itself. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find out a precise timeline, but we have some guidance on how to examine the damage so you can come up with an approximate time on how long you’ve had water in the damaged space.
Figure Out How Old or New Your Water Damage is with This Guidance
You can get an approximate age of your water damage by following these steps:
- History of the House: If your residence has any spots from water damage, it’s critical to keep a record of them when determining whether damage provoked from water is new or old. Also, you’ll want to be aware of any weather that could bring hidden water damage to the surface such as a rain storm. Know your house, because pipes with a slow drip can take some time to appear, and if you know what’s new and what’s old, you’ll be able to pinpoint your issue faster.
- History of the House: An older property may already have some previous damage provoked from water, so it’s effective to keep a record of what’s there and to note if the damage changes over a period of time. Keeping track of the weather is a good idea as well, since, if you have a small leak, it can take a while for a spot to appear. Keeping track of your water spots and damages can save you lots of time when finding out whether your water damage is new or old.
- Touch the Spot: You can touch the spot- this can disclose a lot about the age of the damage generated by water. A newer spot will feel wet but your ceiling or drywall will still feel the same, while an older spot will be spongy and squishy because your material would have absorbed a good amount of moisture.
- Look for Rings: Remember how rings on a tree reveal the age of the tree? The same idea can be used for water spots. An older water spot will have rings around it. They can also be shaded differently because the spot gets soaked then dries and gets soaked again then dries again, etc. A newer spot will be darker with no rings circling it.
- Examine the Materials: Get to know the material around your house, because water and moisture can become trapped by tiles and thick paint. And if spots caused by water show up through these types of materials, this indicates the buildup of moisture has been lingering for a while.
- Mold Inspection: If you find that bacteria is present, your water damage has been there for nearly two to three days.
- Decay: Your material doesn’t usually decompose from the first instance of water damage. So when there has been decomposition, this indicates your material has been vulnerable to repeated standing water or flooding.
Get in Touch with Paul – Your Skillful Water Damage Restoration Technicians
The intensity of your water damage doesn’t matter, Paul Davis is here to assist. Our team of experienced water damage restoration contractors can fix the issue and have your residence back in good condition. Remedy the issue today before it gets worse and call us at 989-894-4450 to find a local franchise near you.